Torpedo.



H. W. KELLY.

TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1914.

1,12%,74. Patnted Jan. 12, 1915.

KINTTEED STATEg HUGH WILLIAMSON KELLY, 0F TRENTON, NEW AUBREY LOVE, OF NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To max, N. Y.

TORPEDO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915..

Application filed June 27, 1914. Serial N 0. 847,643.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HUGH WILLIAMSON- KELL of Trenton, in the county of Mercer, and in the State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Torpedoes, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

y invention relates particularly to torpedoes designed for use on railway tracks as signals, although it is applicable for use in other similar ways.

The object of my invention isto provide a torpedo which is arranged so as to prevent flying parts, and a further object of my invention is to provide a torpedo of great efiiciency at a minimum cost and which may be made with a minimum amount of labor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a torpedo in which a bendable strap or clamping device is provided for securing a torpedo to a rail, but in which there is also means provided for clamping the torpedo to the rail through the agency of the strap or other clamping means, this being effected by using with the strap or clamping means a material having a frictioned surface which willbind the severed or frac tured parts of the strap or clamping means together, and which will also retain them in the desired form to cause the clampin means to secure the torpedo to the rail after the severance or fracture of the strap or clamping means.

Another object of my invention is to provide a construction in which the outer surface of the torpedo is of such a nature that it .will not slip along the rail, and in which additional non-slipping material may be readily applied thereto when desired.

torpedo made in accordance with my invention is provided in general with an explosive body contained within any suitable container and adapted to be attached to a rail by a strap or any suitable clamping means, with which there is provided a frictioned material designed to bind the strap or clamping means together in its several parts, as well as to bind the same to the body of explosive both before and after the strap or clamping means has become severed orv fractured in any of its parts. The frictioned material in question is also preferably of such a nature that it is adapt- I though this wrapping may ed to confine the various parts of the torpedo in such straining influence upon the flying of any .of lead or other material from doing as much damage as results from the use of uncovered fiber or metal parts. Furthermore, the frictioned material is preferably of such a nature that signed to prevent slipping may be readily applied to the exterior of the torpedo.

hile my invention is capable of embodiment in many different forms, for the purpose of illustration I have shown only certain forms thereof, in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of one modification of my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view of another modification of my invention; Fig. 3 is a similar View of still another modification of my invention Fig. 4 is a perspective view of still another modification thereof; and Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the torpedo shown in Fig. 1.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 1, I have provided an outer annular casing of any desired fabric as, for example, of duck, canvas, cheesecloth, calico, rubber, asbestos, etc., which may be frictioned on both surfaces; that is to say, it may be provided with sticky rubber or adhesive coatings l and 1 on the spectively. This casing incloses a body of explosive 2 and a strap 3 which may be made of any suitable material, such, for ex.- ample, as lead, which is adapted tohold its shape when formed around the rail to which the torpedo is to be attached. The body of explosive may be incased in a separate wrapping 4 of any desired character, al-

be omitted when found unnecessary for maintaining the body of explosive 2 in position.

The modification shown in Fig. 2 is constructed in the same manner as the modification shown in Fig. 1, except that instead of using an annular body of fabric, the body of material is wrapped in a spiral roll of fabric 5.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the construction is the same as shown in Fig. 1, except that in this instance, instead of using sand or any other agent dc inside and outside, re-

v tu e to the remainder of such a manner th applied to cred, owinghave become severed,

a strap 3 such as that shown in Fig. 1, there is provided a lead tube 6 containing the body of explosive 2.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the construction is the same as in Fig. 3, except that a lead tube 7 is provided which incloses a tubular fabric 8 which may be rubberized or provided with an adhesive coating on both sides thereof, but which may instead be provided only with an outside adhesive surface so as to cause the same to tightly adhere to the inclosing tube 7.

Furthermore, if desired at any time, a quantity of sand or other frictioning material 9 may be applied to the outer sticky or adhesive surface of the torpedo before being applied to the rail, so as to further prevent any slipping of the torpedo on the rail, as shown m Fig. 5.

A torpedo constructed-in accordance with my invention will hold the various parts of the torpedo tightly together. That is to say, the frictioned'fabric will hold the various parts of the strap or metal tube together even when parts thereof become severed and will also hold the same to the body of explosive under similar circumstances. In other words, when metal tube have become fractured or sevto the continual bending and rubbin to which the strap-or tube is sub-- jected 1n actual use of trainmen in carrying the torpedoes about preparatory to application to the rails, the 'frictioned fabric will ti htly bind the ends of the strap or metal the torpedo, and in at when the torpedo is the rail, the torpedo will be held in place, notwithstanding the fracture or severance of the ends of the strap or lead tube. This is evident from the fact that even when the ends of the strap or lead tube when the ends of the bent over the sides of strap or lead tube are form of the adjacent the rail, the change in severed'portions of the strap or tube will the ends of the strap or be retained and, as a consequence, the torpedo will be held in place notwithstanding the severance or fracture of the ends of the strap or lead tube. With a construction of this kind, it therefore becomes practically impossible to damage the torpedo in operation in such a manner'as to prevent its being secured to a rail for detonation. Furthermore, in a torpedo constructed in this manner water and moisture are entirely excluded from the torpedo, so that the explosive composition therein cannot be damaged by the same. The use of woven fabric, furthermore, produces a louder detonation.

I am aware that tubular torpedoes have been previously constructed, but my invention relates to other features present in the construction described hereinabove.

While I have described my invention above in detail, I Wish it that many changes may be made therein l to be understood Within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A .torpedo comprising a bendable stifiening member and a frictioned fabric having its inner surface frictioned and inclosing the bendable ends of the bendable stiffening member.

2. A torpedo comprising a bendable stiffening member and a frictioned fabric having its outside frictioned and inclosing the bendable ends of the bendable stiflening member.

3. A torpedo comprising a bendable stiffening member and a frictioned fabric having its inner surface frictioned and inclosing the bendable stiffening member and having its outside frictioned. I

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

MARGARET EHRET, Fnnnnmc R. BRACE. 

